alternative heat source - new please help

[starpython]

I've been watching and researching here for a while now and finally joined up so I'm totally new at this.
I have a red foot that was estimated to be about one year old when I adopted him. His name is Sicily. It's been a work in progress trying to get his habitat just right and with so much info out there I'm feeling a little conflicted and confused.
I need an alternative heat source for his enclosure for day and night. I don't want to use a CHE because I have a very curious kitten that will likely get herself burned.
I've looked into the Mega Ray heat projector, but can't seem to find anyone around that is using it for tortoise habitats. Any thoughts? I've been using a red heat bulb, but it's too bright for him. I was thinking about switching that to a black light for night, but not sure what kind.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Yvonne G]

I just use the cheapy black lights that Wal-Mart sells. Sometimes they're made by GE and sometimes they're an off-the-wall brand. The ones I buy are usually 60 watts. But why would you think a kitten would be tempted to touch a CHE but not a black light?

Oh, and...WELCOME to the forum!!

 

[starpython]

I find my kitten (Echo) on top of little Sicily's enclosure all the time near the red heat lamp. I think she's curious about him and also enjoys the warmth. So from what I understand the CHE's give off a lot more heat then regular bulbs. Even with a screen around the lamp I don't want to risk her getting burned.
I've also been reading that they suck a lot more power then a mega ray or other bulbs. I don't want my power bill getting too crazy.

 

[coreyc]

Hi I have three cat's one some times sits on top of the cage but do not go near the lights or CHE I think it's because of the heat & light they know to stay away mine is hanging from a zoo med light stand you should be fine with one

 

[Yvonne G]

You're right about the CHE being more costly to run. I don't know why a 100 watt CHE uses more electricity than a 100 watt light bulb, but in my experience, it does. I don't use them anymore for that reason. I now use a regular bulb for daytime (but my tortoises all live outside) and a black light for night time.

 

[starpython]

Guess my kitten hasn't figured out that "hot" is bad for her. She's pretty wild. Into everything.

Any thoughts on the mega ray heat projector?

Thanks for the advice so far everyone. This place has been a wealth of good info. So glad I found it.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I have the megaray projector and its not my favorite. Its sitting in a box by itself now, and I'm using a CHE. I think you'd be best served by a CHE or a black light.

 

[Kevin Kelly]

I understand about the cat!! We have one that WILL NOT leave our lizards alone. He too is into everything. I hear persistence pays off though.

 

[starpython]

A little disappointing to hear that the mega ray isn't that great. I'm really fighting the CHE, but I might just have to give it a try. I'm definetely switching to a black light too.

 

[Balboa]

Hate to say it, but as Mark commented in another similiar thread, its looking like black lights should be avoided, more research is needed though. I have yet to find one of these "black light bulbs" but if they truly are a black light, then they will be putting out lots of uva that tortoises can see, thus still illuminating their enclosures.

at this point all I can safely suggest to anyone is che or heat pad/cables, anything else may disturb sleep.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I don't believe that these black light bulbs are producing true UV light. I bought one once to see if my glofish would really glow (they're zebrafish infused with a Green fluorescent protein that will only glow under UV light) and it was nothing more than a darker bulb that produced a bit of purple light. No glowing.

 

[Kristina]

Hate to say it, but as Mark commented in another similiar thread, its looking like black lights should be avoided, more research is needed though. I have yet to find one of these "black light bulbs" but if they truly are a black light, then they will be putting out lots of uva that tortoises can see, thus still illuminating their enclosures.

at this point all I can safely suggest to anyone is che or heat pad/cables, anything else may disturb sleep.

The blacklight bulbs that are being recommended are INCANDESCENT, not fluorescent. They are just dark purple glass. The UV that they put out is less than half a percent.

I have been using these for a long time and have never had an issue.

 

[Tom]

I've been using the CHE's for decades. Never had any problems with them, cat related or otherwise. Never had any problems with any of the colored bulbs either. I prefer CHEs because they produce more heat for the same wattage and they keep it dark. For many years I had them all in my bedroom and I like it very dark and warm at night. Also, I'm still using some of my 20 year old Pearlcos. They have survived more moves than I care to remember and heated dozens of animals for many years. Bulbs burn out after a few months, so if you go that route, you better buy 2 or 3, so you have a back-up when it burns out at 7:59pm and the store that sells them is 2 minutes away and closes at 8pm. Haha.

100 watts is 100 watts. Doesn't matter if its a CHE, black light, TV, or an aquarium heater. If the bulb/appliance/heater/etc... is on, its using what is rated for. A CHE would actually be MORE efficient than the same wattage lightbulb, because you'd be getting MORE heat for the same wattage... that's not worded correctly. Its not more efficient since each one uses 100 watts as long as it is on, but you do get around 20% more heat from a CHE. This should allow you to either keep your reptile warmer OR use a lower wattage CHE and still get the same amount of heat as a higher wattage light bulb. Also, according to the manufacturer, CHEs produce "long wave" radiation verses "short wave" radiation from regular incandescent bulbs. In theory, this is supposed to penetrate further into the animal's body and warm them better.

 

[starpython]

Temps dropped way down here with the passing storm so I broke down and got a 100 watt CHE. It did not produce enough heat so I still had to use the red heat lamp. I also got a small heat pad and insulated around the enclosure. Everything combined the temp only got up to about 75 degrees. Adding a room heater increased temps 5 more degrees. All the heat is sucking out the humidity though. I'm considering a humidifier now. Also after doing some more research on black lights I can really only find one true black light incandescent bulb by RZilla that looks like it's worth trying. If I decided to try it I'll post again with a review.
Still looking for more info on the mega ray heat projector. If anyone else has tried it please let me know.
Thanks again for all the great input.

 

[Yvonne G]

Go to Wal-mart and buy a black light bulb there. Its only about $3 and is in the lighting section in with the regular light bulbs. After you've got it set up, tear off a couple long strips of aluminum foil and along one edge make a couple of tiny folds to fold the two strips together. Then put the whole thing over your habitat, light and all:

You can either cover the whole thing or only partially cover it. It doesn't look so hot, but it keeps the cold room air from rushing in and it keeps the heat in.